Overdose Medication!
- Required urgently at Rehab-Centre in Manipur? -
By Rajesh Khongbantabam *
Naltrexone, Naloxone, Whatever you called It.? Or to put it simply, overdose management medication.
Urgently required in the rehabilitations centre operating in Imphal?
Surely, you must be joking! Living in a society full of contrasting and contradictory school of thoughts with one opting for a total abstinence oriented services and the other vociferously advocating for a pragmatic substitution programme.
Both are trying to save lives and improve their quality of lives and that too in a paradoxical society. The drug users' community does not fancy to get entangles unnecessarily in this contrasting and debatable viewpoints of means but are rather more interested in the end result.
And that too, to save lives! However, when a 'Drug User opt for the total abstinence oriented services by enrolling himself in a rehab-centre.
We really cannot help admiring his determination to come clean and straight. But the tragic part is that one of these episode ended in a sorrow ending and not of those filmy happy ending.
The ironical part is he succumbed to drug overdose and that too in a rehabilitation centre. The writer does not have the right to publicize his name, the said rehab centre nor have any malafide intentions to tarnish any institution. But these writers do have the responsibility to publicize the avoidable circumstances leading to his premature death which in any case could have been saved.
If....and if only wisdom and sensible thinking had prevailed over the utopian thinking of a moralistic leanings.
Wasn't it high time we accept the ostensible fact of a pragmatic service so that no more fellow members succumbed to such irresponsible programme of drug rehabilitation? We admit we are powerless over our addiction and thus turning our lives to a government sponsored institution.
Do this ministry sponsored rehab-institutions also required to be honest enough to admit themselves that they too are powerless enough to change the things that are destined to happen.
To make matters worse, the medication called 'Lobain' used exclusively for detoxification purpose in rehab-centers are facing acute shortages or simply inaccessible for some reason or the other.
A previous article titled 'rehab-centre booms as drug users Feel the heat' by the same writer have drawn enough flak for being too critic but it is my firm belief that I'll continue writing until and unless the people who matters lend a big ear and change the system.
How many drug users' have to be put on the sacrificial altar to start an innovative service? We really can't imagine the plight of the victim parents trying to change their sons' lifestyle from substance abuse and ending up on the wrong side of the circumstances.
At least, some of the so called rehabilitation institution had the courage to admit this fact. Kudos to them!!! Saving lives is our utmost priority, coming clean and straight can come in later.
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* Rajesh khongbantabam is a key correspondent of HDN (Health & Development Network, Thailand) and writes about AIDS inflicted and help available for them. He is based at Imphal, Manipur.
This article was webcasted at e-pao.net on 05th August 2009.
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